Reign
by OrangeCanada99
Summary: What if Bella left Edward before he had the chance to leave her? With a threat looming over both their heads she must find the strength within herself to leave him to protect him. Both are heartbroken and Alice finds herself blind to visions of them both.
1. Prologue

Reign

Everything had been perfect, she had had it all.

And in the blink of an eye every single thing she had ever known had been taken from her.

She had it all, it was torn away. And now she had nothing left.

It would have been bittersweet had her heart not have been ripped out, torn to shreds, and each piece burned in front of her own eyes. Yet worst of all...she had no one to blame but herself.

This stabbing, life altering pain was her own doing. And she felt as if she deserved to die for it.

She had heart the one person she had sworn never to hurt. She saw the moment her words broke his heart, and ripped apart his trust in her. And she had felt the exact second her own heart shattered within her chest.

It had taken everything within her to stumble away from him, out of the dark forest next to her house, and then literally crawl up the stairs to her bedroom.

Yet worst of all she had no one to blame, but herself.

~*~

She had felt the tremble within herself as her alarm had went off. She knew that this was the morning that it was all going to change...the morning in which it all had to change.

Bella Swan pulled herself out of her bed and down the hallway to her bathroom. She striped herself of her clothes and climbed into the shower and let the warm water wash over her body. More than anything she wished she could just plug the tub, let it fill, and lie down in the foot deep water and allow herself to slip away. Yet she knew that wasn't an option.

At least, not today.

She spun around a few times and let the water cover her over and over again. After awhile, she turned to face the faucet and turned the handle from hot to cold. She had hoped the cold water would comfort her, but wasn't surprised when all it did was make the deep hole in her heart become hollower.

Cold used to be the one thing that comforted her most. Whether it be a cold hand clasped over her own, a cold stone like shoulder to rest her cheek upon, or a cold chest pressed up against her warm back as she lay spooned at night in her tiny bed. Now though, the cold left her feeling alone and empty.

She finished her shower and stepped out of the stall, wrapping a fluffy towel around her body. She made her way back down the hallway and into her room, softly shutting the door behind her. She pulled on a pair of worn jeans, and a long sleeved thermal shirt...not really caring at all as long as she was dressed.

She ran a brush through her hair and then let it hang down against her shoulders. She couldn't be bothered with using a blow dryer right now. Or ever again, for that matter.

After a few minutes she sat down on her bed and pulled out her cell phone, dialling the one number she called more than any other. He picked up on the first ring, as she knew he would.

"Bella." He answered. She could hear the smile in his voice, and couldn't help but imagine the crooked smile that graced his handsome face.

"Hi Edward." She breathed in reply.

"How are you today love?" He asked. "Sleep well?"

Last night had been the first night in months that they had slept apart. Most night she slept nuzzled against his side, his arm draped protectively around her. But last night she had asked him not to come over, stating she needed to spend time with Charlie and finish a few things for school. And being the ever understanding perfect boyfriend that he was, he complied. She knew he had been confused, but he trusted her, and if a night apart was what she requested he would grant it to her. She was counting on him always being willing to grant her wishes now.

She swallowed hard, feeling her eyes begin to fill with tears. She had to remain strong, she could cry forever after, but right now she needed to remain strong for both of them.

"I was ok." She answered, battling her emotions and leaving the answer open for him to interpret it however he saw fit.

"Did you want me to come over and sit with you for breakfast? Perhaps we could take a trip to the meadow." His tone sounding hopeful.

She nodded her head, even though he couldn't see her through the phone. "Sure...that would be great."

"Alright. I'll be over in a few minutes. See you soon love." He replied to her, her favourite crooked smile back in his voice.

She hung up her phone and set it down on her bed. She padded out of her room and down the stairs to the kitchen. She pulled out her cheerios from the cupboard and the milk from the fridge and sat down at the kitchen table. She poured the cereal and milk into the bowl and added a spoon, and just waited.

Edward was always on time. Minutes later, without fail Edward let himself into her house and walked into the kitchen. He walked over to her and leaned down to kiss her gently before moving to sit across from her.

They made small talk while she finished her breakfast, and all too soon she was done and out of excuses to prolong this moment.

"Edward?" She asked.

"Mm hmm?" He replied, he reached his hand out to meet hers and traced random patterns across her palm.

She smiled at him gently, her eyes tearing yet again. "Could we take a walk outside for a bit, please?"

He smiled brightly over to her and brought her hand up to his lips placing a light kiss against her scar. He nodded. "Of course."

She stood up and placed her bowl into the sink and moved to the front door to grab her coat and slip on her shoes. Edward trailed behind her, catching her lightly by the elbow as she stumbled at one point, and holding the door for her as they made their way outside. He followed her as she led the way down the front path and across the large yard to the tree line of the nearby forest.

She knew this was the turning point, there was no turning back once they stepped into the forest. She had to go through with this. Right before they entered she stopped short and turned around abruptly to face him.

"Kiss me." She begged, looking up into his bright golden eyes.

He smiled down at her and bent down slightly to place his hard lips lightly against her soft ones. He pulled back after a quick peck and continued to smile to her.

She shook her head. "Again." She commanded. And this time she didn't allow him to pull back. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled her body up against his own, pressing into him and pouring every last emotion she could into this single kiss. Her love, her devotion, her want, her need, her pain, her sorrow, and her remorse. She was shocked that he allowed it to go on as long as he did, but finally he pulled back, forcing them apart as her need for air overcame her.

"I love you Bella." He whispered.

"I love you too." She breathed. A sob was trapped in her throat, but she refused to let it escape.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the trees, staying to a small path that had been marked out in the under bush over the years. She walked until she couldn't see the house behind them, or hear any of the sounds of the town they lived in. Finally, she came to a stop. It took everything she had in her to turn around and face him.

She kept her eyes downcast, but finally she forced herself to look up into his eyes. At first she could see only love in his eyes, but as he focused in on her face and looked deeper into her eyes she saw first dread and then uneasiness enter his golden orbs.

"Edward...I love you. And I need you to let me get this out." She began.

He nodded his head slowly, hanging on her every word.

"This is hard for me to say, to have to tell you...but...this just isn't working anymore. This, here between us. I thought it would, I thought it could...but now I see I was just trying to fix something that couldn't be fixed." She explained. She took a deep breath to still herself and continued on. Her adrenaline was pumping through her body, and she knew he could hear how hard her heart was pumping in his chest.

"We're just too different Edward, you and I. I'm human and you're not...and that just isn't right. I want things in my life that you can't give me, and I see that now. I thought I could get over it all and accept not having those things someday but I know now that I can't. I want to get married, I want children, I want to grow old with my husband beside me aging as well...I don't want to be frozen in time forever and not get to experience everything I want to."

He looked stunned, and her heart broke more at the sight. She didn't want to hurt him, but knew he had to hear these things to understand.

"You...you don't want me anymore?" He asked, his voice quiet.

She nodded her head. "No."

He had stopped moving, and his eyes had begun to turn to black before her very eyes. "I understand." He started. "You deserve everything I can never give you."

She stepped forward and placed a light kiss on his check. She reached out and squeezed his hand in her own. "This is the last you'll ever see of me. I'm moving to Fort Lauderdale to be with my mom and Phil. I miss the sun too."

With one last look at him, she turned and began to walk out of the forest and back towards her house. After a few hurried steps she picked up her speed and started to run as fast as she possibly could out of the trees. Once the brush turned to grass beneath her feet she stumbled, and fell down to her knees. She continued as fast as she could, crawling across the cold grass until her fingers touched the stone pavement of the pathway in front of her father's small house.

She clenched her hands into fists and pressed them against her stomach, the pain beginning to over power her. She could no longer see from the tears that had started to spill from her eyes, and her head was pounding from the blood rushing through her body. She felt cold, and empty, and so dizzy she knew it would be a minute until she could stand up on her own.

She had never felt a pain like this before, she had broken her own heart...but she had to believe it was the truth. She needed to believe in what she had just told Edward so that he in turn could believe it too. Yet as she sat on her front step, her head in her hands, and her heart shattered into a million pieces in her chest, she felt as if nothing would ever be right again.

She had given up an angel. Did that make her the devil?

After a few minutes she crawled up the front steps and into her house. She forced herself up the stairs and into her bedroom where she began to pack. She had a plane to catch in just an hour.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N....So...I've never written anything for Twilight before and I really need to know that this is worth continuing at all. Let me know what you think...and I hope I'm keeping everyone guessing at what's going on because I don't plan on revealing much for awhile...but TONS will happen until then to shock you. Reviews make me happy.

Also...I don't know Twilight, Stephenie Meyer owns all...but I sure wish I did.

CHAPTER ONE

Only an hour later Bella found herself on a plane, flying high in the sky and away from the small rainy town she had grown to love more than she ever thought would have been possible. After packing as quickly as she could, she ran to the bank and cleaned out her savings account. Surprisingly, she had a lot more than she realized in there. She had made her way to the airport then, and selected the next flight out of town.

Unfortunately there had been three next flights to choose from. She had found herself staring up at the departure board, completely unsure of what to do. Making more decisions was not something she could handle today. She was constantly on the verge of tears, and was terrified that if she had to speak to anyone for too long she would burst into tears and her cover would be blown.

Choice One: Miami, Florida.

To most people this would be the destination to choose. Miami was a large city, easy to be lost in, and beautiful weather could be found year round. Yet to her, this was the only destination she knew she couldn't choose. For one, anywhere in Florida would be much too close to her mother in Jacksonville. And while it hurt her to admit it, having the sun shining around her each and every single day would do nothing but remind her of all that she was leaving behind, of who...and what she was leaving behind. For the past year the sun had been a curse, its brightness meaning another day that she and Edward would have had to spend apart or hiding in their meadow...and living in it would be a slow torture and endless reminder of it all. Miami just was not an option.

Choice Two: Fairbanks, Alaska.

Fairbanks could also be considered a fair sized city...smaller than Miami, but bigger than Forks. That should seem like the best of both worlds, yet Bella found she wasn't happy with this option either. While Miami wasn't enough like Forks, Fairbanks was too much like Forks for her liking. Not only that, but she knew a coven of vegetarian vampires resided nearby...and the last thing she needed was to run into them at all. And while she hated to admit it, she knew she didn't have the willpower to stay away from Denali, because more than anything she would always find herself hoping that the Cullen's would come visit and she would get to see them again. Or than Edward would come visit, and she could just throw her arms around him, and get lost in his kisses and his cool touch...and he could make all of this just be a bad dream. But it wasn't a bad dream, and because of that Fairbanks was also not the place for her.

Choice Three: Chicago, Illinois.

Random. That was the first thought that shot to Bella's mind as she saw this city listed up on the departure board. It was warm, and cold. It was large, and she could be anonymous. There was sun, and snow, and rain, and not too much of just one thing to remind her of what she was leaving behind. Chicago had jobs, and schools, and places to live...and best of all she knew no one there or near there. It was random, and that's exactly what she needed.

Before she even realized what she was doing, she found herself at the ticker counter buying a ticket to Chicago. She passed through security and boarded the plane, and found herself flying off towards her new life.

To say she wasn't scared would be an understatement. She was terrified, beyond terrified. And scared was not an emotion Bella felt often. She had befriended a family full of Vampires, fell in love with the most amazing one even, and none of that even phased her. But now...she had to move to a city she had never even thought about, find a job, manage to finish school, and live on her own...all while trying to lay low and undetected from threats that were entirely out of her control.

All too soon she was pulled out of her thoughts by an announced over the intercom on the plane.

"_Ladies and Gentleman, I'd like to welcome you all to the famous windy city today, Chicago Illinois. It is currently a nice 80 degrees. We will be landing in just a few minutes. On behalf of all the staff here today on flight 2012, we hope you enjoyed flying with Delta Airlines."_

The plane made its decent and landed all too quickly. Time was passing her by much faster than she would have liked. As if it wasn't bad enough that her mind couldn't stop spinning, now time was flying by and not allowing her enough time to gather or control her thoughts. The terror was running rampant within her.

Once the plane was secured securely at the gate and the little seat belt sign was turned off, she stood up and retrieved her bag from the over head compartment where she had stored it. She waited rather impatiently as the other passengers left the plane and made their way to carousel number 5 to collect their luggage. Besides her carry-on bag, she had just one other to retrieve before she could make her escape from the stuffy airport. Everything around her felt as if it was pushing in on her, too close, too tight, squeezing her.

She waited and watched as bag after bag came down the chute and began to turn on the belt before her. Finally, after seemingly every single other bag came down, her little black suitcase on wheels came out of the chute and she had to chase after it to grab it, not willing to let it come around to her.

She trudged through the airport, a back pack slung over her shoulder, and pulling her larger suit case behind her.

Bella made her way outside and to the taxi stand. Luckily, a taxi pulled up quickly and she threw her bags into the trunk.

Once inside the back seat she realized she had to give the driver directions on where she needed to go. The only catch was that she had no freaking idea.

"The Best Western on the other side of town please." She asked, hoping against hope that their just so happened to be a Best Western on the other side of town.

The driver took off, turning quickly onto a major freeway and she released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. It was a small relief that at least one thing was going her way for once.

She let herself become lost to her thoughts once again, staring out the window blankly and watching as the new city flew past her in a blur. Everything was so out of control...she may have made it to a new city and completed another part of her plan, but she still had no idea what the hell she was going to do.

*~*~*

He knew to a human the ground beneath him would feel cold. But to him, a hundred plus years old Vampire, it felt neutral, warm even at times as he felt the compressed heat held inside ride up and release from time to time.

The forest was utterly silent around him; he was deep enough within the forest that the sounds from the small town around him did not carry over. And because of what he was all animals made sure to steer clear of the area around him. Whether the animals realized it or not, he was a predator to them and higher than they would ever be on the food chain, they knew to steer clear.

After Bella had left him alone, turning and walking away from him in the forest he had turned the other direction and sped off as fast as he could. He had only managed to make it a kilometre or so before his grief got the best of him and he had collapsed to the hard ground. While vampires were supposed to never tire, in that moment he knew without a doubt that he could not go on.

He had fallen to the ground on his side and pulled his knees up to his chest, hoping that this would offer him some sort of comfort. After years of practice and pretending to be human he had witnessed them do this same motion many times in an attempt to protect them, and in this moment he did it too...yet it offered nothing.

He felt weak and hollow. But worst of all was the pain, it started out as a dull ache, but once the severity of her words had sunk in it had exploded into an all consuming pain that overtook his entire body in a mere millisecond.

He closed his eyes in yet another attempt to protect himself, yet of course it offered nothing in way of comfort. The realization was sinking in, his brain was processing everything that had happened and all that it meant. He had lost Bella, she had said it was too much, he couldn't give her what she needed anymore, couldn't supply her with the simple things she wanted in her future adult life. This had always been his own fear, but now to know that she had been thinking it as well...it cemented it all. He had been wrong to ever go near her, to touch her, to kiss her, to need her...to love her. But how could he have not? She was perfection. She had been everything he had been searching for, she had made him think for just a minute that being condemned to this vampire existence wasn't quite so bad. As long as she was by his side, and now that she wasn't, where did that leave him?

He had heard the saying many times; it was better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. Until now he had agreed with it. But he knew now that the person who wrote that had obviously never loved anyone as completely as he loves Bella.

Loves, not loved.

Because now he had felt was it was like to be in love with the most perfect creature on earth. He knew what it was like to be with that one person who completed you and could make your worse moments the best ones ever, just because she had been at his side. And now he had to live without her. His mind was unwilling to comprehend this.

Maybe this was all some sort of joke or prank? But he knew no one, especially Bella could be that cruel to him. Perhaps he had had a bad reaction to the blood from the elk on his last hunt...but he dismissed that idea as quickly as he thought it. After over a hundred years of hunting and living off of the blood of animals bad blood just wasn't an option. Maybe this was all a dream? Except that vampires didn't dream, because they didn't sleep. Which just made him think of the things he couldn't offer Bella, and why she had left in the first place.

And then the pain inside of him got worse, if that was even possible. The pain he felt now was worse than he could ever imagine, worse even than the insane burning he had felt for three days when Carlisle had turned him all those years ago.

He tried to force himself to stop thinking, but the more he tried to stop the more thoughts that seemed to enter into his mind. After awhile he seemed to hear a slight buzz in his head and thought that just maybe it was working, but the buzz only seemed to get louder as the seconds ticked by. He made himself focus on the buzz, wondering what in the world it could be, forcing all his energy on the sound as it got louder and sharper with each passing moment.

Finally he realized with a start what it was. His own name. He was hearing his own name repeated over and over in his own head. Someone was calling his name.

"Edward...edward, EDWARD. _Edward. _EDWARD. Edward, answer me damnit."

Over and over the name was repeated in his mind, in varying tempos and levels. It was only once it seemed that the sounds were coming from right next to him that he found himself calling out.

"_Here." _He thought. Realizing that there was no one else that could read his own mind, he tried again, this time finding his voice before calling out. "Here."

In an instant a small dark haired pixie was at his side. His eyes were still shut tight but he could hear her there, and he could sense that it was his youngest sister, Alice. The dark haired pixie had flown to his side, relief apparent in her thoughts.

"_Oh thank god_."

He could see himself through her thoughts now and saw how she reacted. She looked afraid to touch him, her hands wavering over his body for a moment before she finally latched onto his arm and squeezed tightly.

"Edward?" She whispered, her voice laced with a hint of panic.

Behind her he could sense as the rest of their family showed up, relief and confusion floating throughout their own thoughts as well. Jasper and Emmett arrived first, Carlisle only slightly behind them. Esme and Rosalie were right behind him and all moved quickly to form a protective circle around him, scanning the forest around them for any lingering threat.

He almost found himself laughing, if only they knew.

"Edward?" Alice asked again, shaking him lightly where her hand was latched onto his arm.

He couldn't open his eyes yet, he refused.

"His emotions are all over the place, he almost just laughed aloud...but the pain, I can barely stand it." Jasper explained pain evident in his own tone.

Carlisle moved forward and knelt down next to Alice in front of him. "Edward, son...are you hurt? Can you tell us what happened?"

Edward made no movement. His knees were still pulled tightly against his chest and his eyes were still shut as tightly as he could get them.

He knew his family was panicking, he could hear the thoughts flying through their heads. Emmett was still on alert for a threat, positive that something was still lurking in the forest and had done this to his brother. Rosalie had similar thoughts, but was filled with confusion more than anything. Carlisle was trying to assess the situation first before he brought up any speculation, yet fighting himself with an overwhelming need to pull Edward into his arms and act as his father instead. Esme was beside herself with grief, knowing in her soul that this wasn't good, and Jasper was fighting with the emotions of not only Edward but everyone else as well, and was quickly losing the battle to control it all. But Alice had herself in such a panic that Edward couldn't even make out what was going through her head. It was making him dizzy, and vampires didn't get dizzy.

"Carlisle?" Alice began. "His future Carlisle, it's gone....completely gone. I can't see a thing."

For a moment Edward thought that maybe somehow he had died, and that was why Alice couldn't see his future. But he knew that if he had died he wouldn't be feeling this overwhelming pain...right? They said you stopped feeling anything when you had died. Unless of course...he was in hell. That made a little bit more sense to him in that moment, because he knew he had no soul and only the soulless went to hell. Even so...his entire family would not be with him had he went to hell...so that wasn't what had happened either.

Either way he knew he had to say something. He took a few minutes more to hold himself together for a moment, and for the briefest of seconds he knew he could finally say a few words.

"She's gone. Bella's gone."


	3. Chapter 2

Author's Note: So it's been awhile, but real life kind of got in the way of things and I had a friend in from out of town that I haven't seen for 5 years...so yes. Anyways, please let me know what you think...reviews help me know that this is worth it to keep going, and I honestly am interested to know what the people that are reading this think. I'm sure this chapter may be a little surprising, or A LOT surprising, but hey...I like keeping everyone guessing. Enjoy!!

Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer, so I own nothing...though I wish I did.

CHAPTER TWO

_Six Months Later_

"Hey Bella, here's the files you asked for earlier." The young girl said, handing the files off to Bella.

She sat at a desk in a dark corner of a small room. There were piles of files cluttered all around her, all over the floor, all over her desk, against the wall...basically on top of any surface that was at least halfway flat.

This was the file room of Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. Bella's job was to take all the old files from the hospitals inception in 1852 and transcribe them onto an electronic database. When she had first arrived at the hospital she had applied for a job in reception, when she was offered a position she had thought that she would be sitting at a desk all evening and answering phones. She had been wrong. On her first day she had been given a passcode to a computer system she had never used, was shown a room filled with rows and rows of giant filing cabinets, and told to start with cabinet A1 in the back left hand corner. Currently she was working on cabinet B3, and that had only brought her up to May of 1900. She felt as if she'd never reach the end.

At first she had resented the quiet and the aloneness a job as a file clerk brought, but now she craved it. Being the sole file clerk of the hospital she had to use all of her alertness to make sure each and everything was entered correctly into the computer database. These files were old, dreadfully old, and the paper had yellowed and the ink had faded on most. Everyone always joked about doctors having the worst writing on the planet, and Bella knew this to be true, half of her time was spent just trying to figure out what the hell the pages were saying. She also now had quite the repertoire of medical vocabulary in her knowledge.

She grabbed the new stack of files that had been set down on her desk and flipped the front cover open. A cloud of dust slid off the pages and she couldn't help but sigh. It was a miracle she didn't have lung problems by now, the amount of dust that she must take in on a daily basis couldn't be healthy...but as of yet she had no lasting effects...thankfully.

Looking down at her watch she sighed and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. This would be her last file of the day, and she couldn't wait to be done it to get home and go to sleep. A little over an hour and a half later she was finished, and finally stood up from the desk she often felt chained to. She leaned back, placing her hands on her lower back and pushing, trying to remove the kink she often found herself suffering from. She shook out her legs and arms a bit and reached down to pick up her shoulder bag.

She left the room behind and shut the door behind her, locking it with her key she had been given. Outside she made her way to the bus stop and waited for her bus that would take her home. She lived in a small two story, two bedroom house in historic Chicago. The house was near the hospital, rent was relatively cheap, and the large high school she was attending was near by it. She honestly couldn't ask for much more.

Her days were basically the same. She woke up at 6AM each morning, showered and dressed and ate at a quick breakfast of brown toast and cereal. She'd walk to school and attended classes from 7:45AM to 2:30PM. She would then hop on the bus and work at the hospital in the file room from 3PM to 11PM. Full time school, and full time job. It kept her mind busy and gave her enough money to support herself. This was her routine without fail each and every single day. On the weekends in place of school she volunteered at a nearby community center tutoring disadvantaged children and teens.

She walked a very fine line each day, she craved the familiar and detested change.

After the short bus ride home she walked into her house, dropping her bag near the door and walked into the kitchen to grab something to eat for herself. She could hear the television on in the living room and breathed a sigh of relief that she wouldn't have to be home alone this evening. She needed to be alone, but hated it all at the same time. It was such a catch 22.

She grabbed a pop tart and wrapped it in a paper towel, quickly heating it up in the microwave. Reaching into the fridge she retrieved a bottle of water and made her way to the living room. She smiled at her roommate, and plopped down on the couch beside him, content in watching some mindless television to allow her brain some time to turn off before bed.

"Hey Embry, how was work?" Bella asked, turning her head to get a look at him.

He shook his head, his facial expression grim. "It was fine. Long...but fine."

Embry Call made no secret of how much he detested his job. After school he worked for 6 hours each night as a cashier at a local supermarket.

Bella smiled. "If you hate it so much why don't you look for something else...something new that might interest you a little bit more?" She asked softly.

Bella rarely pushed, but when it came to Embry sometimes she couldn't help herself. When he had first shown up and moved in with her he had been dead set on not going to school...saying he didn't need school in his life, and for his future. Bella believed otherwise. While Bella had little to no intention of ever attending College, she truly believed that you could never go wrong with receiving at least a high school graduation. After a few weeks of persuasion and a little guilt tripping him, she had succeeded and Embry began taking classes with her at the high school she was attending.

And while she'd never once admit it to him, she couldn't deny that her feelings had been right in his case...at least when it came to school. Embry was smart, REALLY smart...and after just a few months classes he was on the face track to skip a grade in the next semester which would bring him up to her grade. She was desperately glad that she had at least a small part in helping him achieve his education. And while she wasn't a genius by any means, she was pretty sure that having a study partner that could keep up with him academically helped matters quite a bit.

Bella remembered the day that Embry Call walked back into her life very clearly. It had been a huge shock to her, and honestly, she wasn't much sure how much more shock her heart could take.

It had been a little over four months ago, and just under two months after she had arrived in Chicago to begin with. She had just moved into her new place, and had only been working at her new job at Mercy Hospital for a little over three weeks. The day was cold, it had been late October at the time, and the first snowfall of the season had happened just the night before. Over night the bustling city had been turned into some sort of winter wonderland before her very eyes. As Bella made her way down to the street towards her house she couldn't help but notice how happy everyone around her looked.

There were children playing in their front yards making snowmen, couples walking hand in hand down the sidewalk huddled close together in an attempt to keep out the cold, and a few small groups of young teens running and throwing small snowballs at each other. Their laughter rang out all around her.

She had closed her eyes to still herself, trying to block out all the images on the street around her. She continued walking for a moment. Seeing all the happy people around her just caused everything to open up again inside of her. She had all of her emotions and feelings shoved into a very small box inside of her and she worked very hard each and every moment to keep that box locked and hidden away. She knew what would happen if it was suddenly opened, and she didn't think she'd be able to live through the feelings that would then be opened inside of her. The pain, the torture, the hurt...it would kill her.

After a moment she opened her eyes and barely had a second to react. A bus was in front of her barrelling down the street. At some point while walking she had stepped off the curb and into the middle of an intersection...before checking both ways for traffic.

She could hear a panicked scream distantly behind her, and another that she could only assume was coming from the bus driver inside the bus. Yet she couldn't force herself to take a step back, there just wouldn't be time...the bus was right in front of her.

Just as she had thought this last thought the bus screeched to a halt and she closed her eyes once again, not wanting to see the moment it would hit her. She felt the bus hit her, and let herself fall limp as she slammed down on the pavement, her head hitting the cement. She heard a crack and felt as her arm suddenly started shooting pain up towards her shoulder and down towards her fingers. She could sense a flurry of activity around her, and didn't want to open her eyes...scared to see what sort of condition her mangled body had to of been in.

She could hear something that sounded like a crunch start off in front of her and quickly get closer.

"Bella?" The voice whispered, she felt the person grasp her arm and shake her gently, an urgency in this person's voice. In the far distance she could hear the unmistakable sound of an ambulance siren.

"Bella, are you alright?" The voice whispered again.

She forced herself to take a deep breath and opened her eyes, looking up into the face of the person who knew her name...she couldn't comprehend how this person knew her name. She slowly began to push herself up with her arms, but the horrible pain that shot through her one arm caused her to give up in her attempts and stay down on the cold pavement.

Once she had opened her eyes, she almost wished she hadn't.

"Em...Embry?" She responded, confusing flashing across her face and through her mind.

Was she dreaming? Nothing was making sense...ah yes, she had hit her head, she reminded herself. As if that it made it all make sense.

"The ambulance is here Bella, they're going to take you to the hospital now." Embry whispered down at her.

She nodded her head slowly, just accepting whatever he was saying...it was beginning to hurt too much to think. The last thing she remembered was being lifted up onto the gurney and wheeled into the ambulance.

*-*

The next thing she remembered was waking up in a hospital bed in a strange room, she was hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor, and all too suddenly she had a flash of her last trip to the hospital...after James attack. She couldn't help but look down at her arm and see the little crescent shape scar was resided there, forever reminding her what had happened in a phoenix ballet studio only months before.

There was a window to her right, and to her left a sleeping giant native boy in a tiny uncomfortable chair.

Her breath hitched and in that moment she realized it had all been real, it hadn't been a dream...but what did his appearance mean? She had no idea, it still kind of hurt to think.

"Embry." She called out, she needed to wake him up and find out. When he didn't stir after a moment she tried again, this time a little louder. "Embry."

He shot up out of the tiny chair, looking around frantically. Finally after a moment, his eyes landed on her and his shoulders dropped in relief. "You're awake."

She nodded her head slowly. "It would seem that way, yes." She replied.

He stood awkwardly by the door, shuffling from one foot to the other, his hands clasped behind his back. She would have laughed, if she didn't see the utter terror in his eyes. "Embry...are you ok?" She asked quietly.

He nodded too quickly. "Yes, fine...of course...I just, now that you're awake I have to go...I'll see you around." He turned quickly on one foot and took two fast steps toward the door before she even realized what he had said.

"Embry wait!" She called out, slight panic ebbing into her voice.

He stopped but didn't turn back around to face her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked quietly.

He took a step back into the room but wouldn't turn around to face her. His shoulders were noticeably tense.

"I saw you get hit by the bus, I had to make sure you were alright." The boy explained, dodging her actual question.

"Embry...I mean in Chicago...how did you find me?" She asked, her tone heavy.

He shook his head and took a half step to turn towards her, allowing her to see his profile but not his entire face. His eyes were cast down on the linoleum floor of her hospital room.

"I wasn't in Chicago to find you Bella...I'm here to hide. And apparently I'm doing a very bad job at it." He explained, sounding defeated.

Bella sighed herself. "I could say the same thing." She agreed.

At this he turned towards her and lifted his eyes up to finally meet hers, the terror was still there. "I'm hiding from the pack...I mean the other guys on the reservation." He clarified. "I can't be drawn into that."

Bella had no idea what to say. Finally, "Did they hurt you?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No...they didn't, and I don't think they would...but, oh god Bella...you just have no idea...you'd never understand. No one will ever understand and that's why I had to leave...and why I'm hiding now."

Bella shimmied back to sit up a little straighter in the bed. She looked him directly in the eye and refused to break contact. "You could explain it to me you know...tell me what happened, you never know what I might believe." She hedged.

He shook his head, "No Bella, this is crazy...and it has to do with you too...it's just some crazy shit Bella."

"If it's about me Embry, then I think I deserve to know...you owe that to me I think." She stated. She couldn't imagine what he had to tell her, but was downright curious at the same time.

He opened his mouth, once, twice, three times until he finally uttered the words he had been holding back...the thing he was running from. "Bella...the Cullen's are Vampires. And because of that...I'm a werewolf."

Bella kept eye contact with him and nodded her head slowly, and said the words she knew he was least expecting. "I know."


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: So I'm sure seeing Embry pop up in here was a little bit of shock, I was kind of shocked too haha. Anyways, please let me know what you think...I'm not so sure anyone is reading this. Reviews make me happy.

Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer...though I wish I had been smart enough to dream up the idea of these amazing characters first.

**CHAPTER THREE**

To say that Embry was surprised would be an understatement. As I looked over at him I saw a vast range of emotions float across his face. Starting first with surprise, then shock, and finally moving onto mortification.

"How...did you know?" Embry asked, taking a few steps closer to stand next to her hospital bed.

She couldn't help but sigh. "Jacob planted the idea in my head actually." She began. "He told me the old Quilette legend about the cold ones...and after a few months of hanging around..." She had almost said his name, and had to steel herself against the pain that shot through her body at just the thought. "...the Cullen's, I put a few things together and did some research. And then I confronted him about it."

Judging by the look on his face Embry couldn't believe what he was hearing. "And you're ok...they never bit you or hurt you?" He asked, his face perplexed.

Bella scoffed. "Of course not!" She could barely believe he said that. "Embry there are obviously certain things that you don't know. Firstly the Cullen's are vegetarians...meaning they do not get their blood supply from humans, they hunt animals and obtain all the blood they consume through those means. They have all spent years trying to fit into public, holding down jobs, attending school, trying harder than anything to blend into public and just live their lives the best they can...none of them chose their lifestyle...it was chosen for them, they were on the verge of death when this choice was made for them...and you know what? They are all ok with that...now. Can you blame them for wanting to make the best of what they've been given?"

Embry moved forward and sat down on the edge of Bella's hospital bed, she could tell that her words were having an impact on him. He had been staring down at his hands, but after a moment he looked up and straight into her eyes. "But what about the treaty?" He asked, shock still resounding in his response. "Why would my tribe have made the treaty if there wasn't a reason for it...if there wasn't a reason to be afraid of the Cullen's?"

"I'm not sure to tell you the truth, I've only been told so much." She stated. She clasped her hands together in her lap, wringing them as best she could with her injuries. "I can imagine though...a family apparently shows up on reservation land years ago, and while they look just like an average group of people they aren't...they are something more sinister, at least in the tribe's eyes. They were right to be fearful of them. I have felt the fear of having a rogue vampire after you, and it isn't something I want anyone else to have to go through." Bella explained, she looked down, her eyes searching for the shiny scar on her arm that would always be there.

She looked up to Embry once again and could see him nod his head a few times slowly. "Yeah...I guess." He began.

"But Embry, you have to understand...not all Vampires are like that...and after awhile I think that the treaty should have been dropped, or at least changed since the Cullen's aren't the bad guys in the scenario . The Cullen's were not out to kill anyone, they didn't kill anyone in the area ever, why would they have went specifically to the reservation to kill anyone from the tribe there? They only ever wanted to blend in, to be as human as possible...and they all knew very well that killing a human would not have been in the way to do that. Carlisle is a doctor, and has been for hundreds of years...he only ever wants to help save lives, not end them."

Embry stood up and began a slow pace back and forth in front of her bed.

"I won't lie and say there aren't others out there that are different from them...because there are...in fact most seem to be of the human killing persuasion...but the Cullen's are good people, and even make sure that when other vampires would stumble through the area they would leave quickly and not hurt anyone while in town." She stopped then, knowing she had given Embry more than enough food for thought. You could practically hear the wheels turning in his head.

"But you still haven't answered my question Embry." She started. He stopped then and looked over at her expectantly. "What brought you to Chicago?"

That afternoon he had spilled it all. He spilled about phasing, about turning into a wolf now, and explained to her how the whole reason he did was because there were vampires in the area. He told her how afraid he had been the first time, and how he couldn't handle this as a lifestyle for him...yet he had no choice, this was in his DNA and now this was what was expected of him, to patrol and protect the tribe with the rest of his newly formed pack.

She had thought to bring up how his situation was exactly like that of a vampire, forced to live a life they didn't want, but she thought better of it before she voiced the words aloud. She was smart enough to know that the connection between hunter and hunted wouldn't go as well as she'd like. Which had only brought her to another point, who exactly was the hunter, and who was the prey in this equation? She had seen vampires fight before in front of her very eyes, and it had been an exceptionally gruesome experience. They we're made to win in battle and salvation, not to lose in death and destruction. But now how Embry explained it, turning into a wolf the size of a horse had to have some sort of bright side. And if they were built to fight vampires then they had to have been pretty awfully tough...right? Her mind was beginning to ache from the thought.

She forced herself back to the topic at hand and the question she had just asked the teen boy sitting in front of her. In the end she had a completely new understanding of the guy in front of her. He was huge, big and brooding on the outside, yet on the inside he was just a frightened little sixteen year old who had so much happen to him, too much too fast, as they would say. It gave her a completely new respect for him.

When his rant ended he looked over at her, and she could see that fear. She reached out and motioned him closer. He came to stand next to her hospital bed and she reached out and grabbed the hand closest to her, squeezing it gently.

"Embry, it's going to be okay." She said with as much conviction and promise in her voice as she could muster.

In all honesty, she had no freaking idea how anything was going to turn out. She herself was hanging on right now by just barely a thread. But Bella was a giver, and she was going to give Embry as much as she could to make him feel safe again.

"Where are you staying?"

He shrugged his broad shoulders. "I don't really know...I just got here yesterday and I slept in a shelter last night...I'll probably sleep there again tonight."

She patted his hand this time, gently, just like a grandmother or a teacher would do.

"Well today just so happens to be your lucky day...my roommate where I'm living moved out last week, and I need someone to take over her half of the rent. You'd need to get a job and everything...but it could be right up your alley. It's warm, a quiet and comfortable little place, and safe." She listed, knowing she had to of had his interest held. "You'd actually be doing me a favour...and I'd feel a lot better with someone to guard over the place a bit."

She said the last part with a slight laugh as if she was joking about it, but she was pretty sure they both knew she wasn't.

He turned slowly, and started to walk towards the door.

Bella felt her heart sank. He was something familiar, even though she had only met him a few brief times back in Forks. She needed him, that something familiar. When he was almost to the door she watched as he stopped and turned slowly back to face her. She looked at him calmly as she could, and wished that he couldn't see the hope in her eyes.

"I have to go to the bus depot and grab my things...I left my bag in a storage locker there. I'll go get it and then when I get back we can try to spring you from this place." He nodded at her once and turned and left the room quickly. She could hear his retreating hurried steps down the hallway towards the elevator.

She couldn't help but smile to herself. She had herself a roommate, and someone who could help her carry the burden of knowing about the supernatural. It was a lot for a young girl to carry on her shoulders alone sometimes, always having to look over her shoulder and keep under the radar. And while she knew she'd still have to do those things now, with Embry here at least she wouldn't have to do them alone anymore.

*_*_*_*

Since that night Embry had been her rock. He had moved in the next day, helped her get home from the hospital and took care of her for a good week until she was well enough to return to her own job.

He had gone out and got a job of his own and was always on time with his half of the rent, and after she had badgered him enough about it he had enrolled in high school and began to attend classes with her. Most evenings were spent in their living room, the television on in front of them but sound muted, and school books spread out on the coffee table while they did their homework and completed their assignments.

During the rare free time they had Bella had introduced him to the world of books, and a few of his favourites now included Pride and Prejudice, and the classic plays Hamlet and Othello by Shakespeare. On his end, Embry had opened Bella's life up more than she could have ever imagined. Because of him she now had a slight addiction to Go-Karting, and while he refused to let her know it he was really proud of how good she was...beating him more times than not.

He had become the one to keep her going, and while she had set out to protect him, more often than not he had taken on the role of her protector. The first few months after her trip to the hospital he would be awoken each and every night to her screams and sobs. She would sleep fitfully, if at all, and always wake after just a few hours screaming his name.

"_Edward! Edward! Edward." _ Her shrill cries would haunt him during the day.

She would beg and plead in her sleep for Edward to forgive her, she would cry over and over again about how sorry she was for what she did, and she would always repeat a hundred times over how much she loved him. Nothing Embry could do would calm or soothe her, and each night she would cry herself back to a fitful sleep, wrapped up in her blankets in a tight little ball.

Embry had never felt so helpless in his entire life. In the morning when he would ask her what happened she would always feed him the same line.

"It just didn't work out Embry, and we decided to go our separate ways." She would always explain. Never once would she look him in the eyes.

Only once had he asked her anything else on the subject. It had been around Christmas time, and her nightmares had flared up even worse than before. He had been sure that things were getting better, she had even started smiling again, yet as it got closer to Christmas day her nightmares had gotten worse, almost to a point where she was afraid to go to sleep. They had stayed up late one night watching old movies, Gone with the Wind, Some Like It Hot with Marilyn Monroe, and The Wizard of Oz to name a few. It had been snowing outside, and watching the couples stories of finding love in the movies had made him curious.

"Bella?" He had begun, standing up to switch discs in the DVD player in their tiny living room.

She had been taking a drink from the glass of water in front of her and held the glass in one hand, her eyes expectantly looking up at him. "Hmm?"

"Did you love him?" He asked slowly, his voice soft.

He could see from her expression that at first she didn't understand the question, but she was a smart girl, and after a moment he saw the comprehension pass across her face. It was followed directly after with a wave of pain and sorrow flashing through her eyes.

She moved to set the glass down in front of her, her hand shaking. She nodded her head and moved to wrap her arms around her middle, squeezing tightly. "I love him more than I'll ever love anything." She whispered.

He had barely heard the words they had been so soft, luckily he had his advanced wolf hearing. He nodded his head in return and knew he could never saw anything else on the subject, she wouldn't survive the pain of it. "So which one should I put in next?" He smiled, letting it drop and changing the direction of her thoughts.

After that day she had done everything in her power to hide from him how hurt she still was. He knew she was barely sleeping, only allowing herself an hour or two of sleep each night before her alarm went off so that she could never reach the deep state she needed for the dreams to start. She would smile, and laugh, and try to say funny things to him, yet it never once came even close to reaching her eyes. It was almost pitiful to watch, seeing her try so hard and still fail horribly.

He would constantly find her with her arms wrapped around herself, and he knew it was in an attempt to hold herself together. He wanted so badly to tell her that it wasn't working, but he knew he never could. He needed to play along, let her think her tricks were working on him, because he was almost positive these little things were the only thing keeping her going at the moment. If she kept busy enough she wouldn't have to think about Edward, and then the pain wouldn't consume her, and she could continue on with the next day, and the day after that...and so on.

It killed him to watch. But he had no idea what to do.

And in reality, he had enough to deal with on his own. He had continued to phase once a week, knowing it was necessary. He would physically begin to ache if he didn't phase into his wolf form at least once every two weeks, and after testing out different lengths of time for a few months he discovered that once a week seemed to work best for his body, mind, and sanity.

The hard part was that each time he phased he would see his brothers from the pack in his mind. Sam, Jared, Paul, and most recently his best friend Jacob. It pained him to see and hear them inside his wolf mind, but he also craved it, needing that little connection to his former home. Each time they would beg him to tell them where he was, and each time he would refuse. He had become a pro at keeping his location a secret, as well as the fact that Bella was there too. If there had been a medal for being the best at it, he would have won the gold, hands done.

He would ask them about their lives, tell them as much as he could about his own, and always be sure to reassure them he was fine. They had all been glad to know he had a job and was managing to eat each day and have a roof over his head. He couldn't help but agree with them there, and only wished he could tell them about Bella. She had become like a little sister to him, and a mother hen all in one.

And finally each week he would tell them he had to go, let them know he would be back next week around the same time, and tell them to take good care of themselves. And they had no choice but to let him.


	5. Chapter 4

So it's been awhile...sigh, I know. Would you believe a horrible case of writers block hit me? Or perhaps real life just got in the way of everything...either way, here is a new chapter, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I think this begins the turn in the story that was needed, and takes it in the direction that will set everything up for the next few. Anyways...if you're reading this, please review...pretty please? It let's me know someone is at least finding this worthwhile, and good feedback always helps with writing faster when I know people are waiting for the next part. So yes...enjoy! :)

* * *

CHAPTER FOUR

The day they had found Edward in the forest had been one of the most frightening of her Vampire life. One moment she was fine and could see them both clear as day, and the next every single moment that could include either Edward or Bella was wiped clear from her mind. After that she had alerted the family as quickly as she could and had taken off towards Bella's house, their last known location. It had been pure dumb luck that she had stumbled upon Edward lying on the forest floor in a tiny ball.

He had repeated the same words over and over for a good ten minutes, leaving them all with no idea what to do or what to say. _"She's gone."_ Alice knew that those words said in his heartbreaking tone of voice would haunt her for the rest of eternity. Finally, Carlisle had stepped forward and taken charge. He had instructed Emmett to pick Edward up and carry him back to the house. The rest of them had formed a circle around the pair, keeping watch for any threats that may be near by.

A million thoughts were going through all their heads, and Alice couldn't help but think that Edward must be going crazy with the rate they were all thinking currently. They couldn't help but imagine that the worst had happened, that Bella had been kidnapped, or snatched...but she dismissed that idea as soon as it came up. There was no way Edward would let her be taken without a fight, and there wasn't a single mark on him. She had thoughts of a car crash, a bear attack even, or maybe even Bella had fallen into a ravine. But again, none of that made sense...based on the location alone. She didn't even have to factor in that Edward would have protected her from a car crash, fought off a rogue bear, or caught her before any harm could come to her from a fall.

As they had neared the house she turned back and noticed that Jasper had fallen steadily behind and was struggling to keep up with the group. She slowed down herself and drew back, slowing to run beside him, or crawl at the pace he was currently going.

"Jasper, what's wrong?" She asked, frantically turning every which way searching for threats.

Jasper had slowed until he was moving no faster than that of a stumbling human. His hands were clenched tightly into fists and he had a look of great pain splashed across his face. "His pain...my god, the agony." He explained, looking up to meet eyes with Alice. "I've never felt anything like it before...it's horrific."

Alice grabbed onto his arm and had to actually help him stand, his knees were actually giving out, something that until now she didn't know could even happen. She turned her head to glance at the front door and noticed that they had already brought Edward inside. She was torn, her husband's pain, or her brother's that was causing it.

Back inside the house the others could barely believe what they were seeing.

Edward was a mess, literally, mentally, and physically. He hadn't moved at all when Emmett had picked him up, and from the blank vacant look in his eyes they weren't even sure if he knew that he had been moved. Emmett had set him down gently on the bed and Carlisle had sat down next to his prone form. He checked Edward over for any marks or signs of what could be causing his state but he came up empty handed.

Carlisle shook his head. "I just don't know...body wise he is _fine_, but it's like he's shut down."

Esme, Emmett and Rosalie stood around watching Edward, all unsure of what to do or to say. Awkwardly enough at the moment their thoughts had even come to a standstill, for the first time that they could remember no one knew what to think.

_*~*_

After a few hours of nothing, Emmett and Rosalie left the room, but Esme stayed, unable to leave her first son alone in this state. Esme sat down on the bed and leaned back against the headboard. Edward was still lying on his side and curled into himself as much as he could manage, his hands clasped against his chest. He hadn't moved even a centimetre.

Reaching out Esme set her hand on his head, needing to feel him, trying to offer any bit of comfort that she could. She turned to look up at her husband, pain evident on her own face. "Is there nothing you can do for him?"

Carlisle shook his own head, defeat pleating his features. Leaning over he gave his wife a quick kiss and stood up to leave her and their son alone. He was hoping that maybe some of the ancient texts in his study would be able to help him out, but he was having a hard time giving himself the false hope.

For the next seven days Esme refused to leave his side. She was so positive and hopeful that he would come out of this, that he would return to his family, and she refused to miss that moment. A boy needed his mother in a time of crisis, and she would not leave him in this time of need. It didn't even matter that the boy in question was well over a hundred years old in reality, because no matter what he would forever and always be a seventeen year old on the inside, just a boy. And for all intents and purposes she was his mother, the only one he had known throughout his vampire existence.

Her eyes had become black as pitch from hunger, but still she refused to leave his side. The burn was becoming quite uncomfortable, and not something she was used to. Living next to the woods had many advantages, one of them being that they didn't have to worry about starvation, always having an easy time keeping themselves full from the wildlife around them.

As for Edward's eyes, no one knew for sure. He was keeping them tightly closed, and from his utter stillness it was difficult to believe that he hadn't actually died. Her heart not only ached from the son she was missing, but the daughter as well. The day after they had found Edward in the woods Alice had headed over to the Swan residence and talked with Charlie. Charlie had shown her the note that Bella had left, but it didn't ease any of their fears, or stop any of their silent sobs. Esme knew in her heart that Bella wouldn't have just run away, and from Edward of all people. She refused to accept it, she just couldn't. In one day she felt as if she had lost two more of her children.

On the eighth day Alice had come in to join her, sitting down next to Edward's form and reaching out to grab Esme's hand squeezing tightly.

She looked up meeting eyes with her daughter, offering a small smile in return. She knew how hard this had to all be on Alice. For the first time Alice was basically blind. In an instant anything to do with Edward and Bella was completely wiped from her mind...she had spent the week searching and searching and not a single vision would come to mind for her.

"I'm sorry Esme." Alice stated, her eyes downcast in front of her.

Esme watched as Alice's eyes scanned Edward's prone body in front of them, and while she wasn't the empath of the family, she could practically feel the emotions of sorrow rolling off of the girl. "Whatever for darling?" Esme whispered in reply, baffled.

Alice shook her head, and slowly moved up to look into her mother's eyes. Her golden orbs were filled with a mixture of emotions. Sorrow, despair, regret, to name a few. "For not being able to see anything. I don't see Edward at all in the future, alone or with anyone of us. I can't even see a vision of him lying in this bed as he has been. And Bella, dear god Bella. Just nothing. It's as if they don't exist and never have. I just don't understand it! I'm a failure." Alice finished, a sob escaping her throat.

Esme moved over slightly and pulled the young woman into her arms. Her tiny frame always felt so breakable in her arms, but Esme knew the feeling was deceiving. By not having a specific gift of her own like Alice, Esme was almost saved from most things. It was bad enough when things happened in real time, she couldn't even imagine what it would be like to know in advance and just sit and dread the time when a certain moment would finally play out in front of your own eyes. And now, when they needed to rely on the visions Alice provided....well, she knew why Alice felt such devastation.

"Alice darling, you are the furthest from a failure. I don't know your visions of Edward and Bella have left you, but we will find out, and you will get them back...I promise you. I love you my sweet girl, how's Jasper taking things?"

Alice sighed and pulled back. She allowed herself a moment before speaking. "He's having a pretty hard time...we've had to stay out in the woods because anytime we even venture just a little too close to the house he is literally brought down to his knees. He says that Edward's pain is the worst thing he's ever felt in this life." Alice explained.

Esme's heart broke hearing this. Her family was falling apart, all of her children hurting and she was completely powerless to stop it.

Another week passed, and with each day she felt nothing but despair hitting each member of the family.

Edward hadn't hunted in so long...over two weeks now, and no one could understand how he could handle it. He was still curled up on the bed, unmoving, and for all intents and purposes, actually dead.

Finally, knowing she had to but not wanting to, Esme left the room...she had to hunt for herself. She couldn't handle the incredible hunger she was feeling any longer...she hadn't felt hunger this bad in years, since her own time as a newborn.

_*~*_

It had been almost two weeks since he had stepped foot into his brothers room. He had walked past the door countless times since he had carried him home, stopping and looking inside, seeing his brothers prone form still on the bed, and his mother still sitting faithfully next to him.

He had been so sure after a few days Edward would return to them, tell them all what happened, and then they would all deal with what to do from there...but that time had not come. And now he was worried. And worrying was not something that Emmett did often, if at all. He was worried for his brother, and even more so for the little sister that had apparently vanished into thin air.

Against his better judgement Emmett had even ventured over to her house in the middle of the night a few days ago, looked around, and tried to find something out of place that could explain what was going on. But her room looked just as he expected any teenage girl's room to look. Afterwards when he returned to the house he felt dejected and stupid, it wasn't as if a note explaining everything was just going to be left out in the open for him to find stating exactly what had happened and where she had gone. He had went outside and met up with Alice in the woods, she had been waiting for him, having seen exactly what he had done and knowing he had found nothing.

"'I can't figure it out either Em, and I've tried...over and over." The little pixie offered, her big golden doe eyes looking up at him. "I know him saying she's gone tells us nothing, and it's killing me."

Emmett shook his head, he had racked his brain trying to figure this out and all of it was just a jumbled mess. "What scares me the most Alice is the fact that it's as if they don't exist anymore in your visions...does that mean that she's dead? That they both are?"

Alice sat down in the grass and Emmett moved over to join her. "No...I don't believe she's dead, and I have to keep believing that. I can't see either of them in my visions, and we know Edward isn't dead even though he looks like it because Jasper can still feel his emotions when we are near, and since I can't see him, I have to believe that for the same reason I can't see Bella...and she isn't dead either. Does that make sense?"

Emmett looked over at her, not quite knowing how to answer. "I don't know." He said baffled. "But right now...it has to, since we have nothing else to go on."

Alice nodded her head and reached over to pat her brother on his shoulder. Emmett smiled at her as best he could, thanking her silently. He vowed in that moment that he wouldn't give up hope, and he would find a way to figure this out. He needed his family to be happy again.

He stayed in the woods for a few hours, hunted a bit, and ran as fast as he could around their property. While his body was busy, it allowed his mind time to think...and just before he was about to give up an idea finally came to him.

He raced back to the house, and grabbed a pail, and went back out into the woods. He spent a few minutes stalking his pray that he had found nearby, and after following the animal silently, he pounced and snapped its neck, effectively killing it before it had any idea what had happened. It was only a simple deer, but he knew it would have to do for now. He used his tear to tear a hole in the animal's neck and drained as much as he could into the pail before it overflowed. It was only a four litre pail, but it would be a start at least.

Emmett shot back to the house, and made his way up to Edward's room. By some miracle, he found that his brother was still left unattended. He moved inside and shut the door behind him, locking it quickly. He knew a lock would do nothing to keep anyone out, but they would take it as a sign that he needed privacy for awhile with him.

He sat the blood he had collected down on the floor at the end of the bed and moved to sit next to his brother. He reached out and clasped Edward on the shoulder, shaking him lightly. Nothing happened. He shook him with more vigour, and still nothing happened. "Edward...come on man, this has gone on long enough."

He waited, yet it was having no effect. He waited a few minutes, unsure of what he was about to do, but finally decided that he had to. Someone had to take action, and stop walking on glass when they were around Edward.

"Man, get up right now." He began. "Bella is out there, and she needs you." He waited a beat but his words still had no effect.

He slammed his fist down on the bed in anger, and felt the frame crack slightly. He forced himself not to care.

"Dammit Edward, she is out there...the girl you love more than anything is out there right now, and you're just going to let her go, not fight for her, not protect her, you need to suck this up and get over yourself." His deep voice boomed down at his brother.

He could hear his family downstairs and knew that they were all wondering what he was doing, but all were willing to give him a moment in hope that this would work. He stood up and walked down to the end of the bed and picked up the blood he had left there, its scent had already permeated the room but he needed to make it worse, to tempt his brother. He sloshed the bucked around and swirled its contents, venom pooled in his own mouth slightly from the scent.

He set the bucket back down and walked to the other side of the bed and grabbed Edward, turn him onto his back. He forced his brother to lie down, but didn't have much trouble, Edward didn't fight him, and Emmett was already much stronger than him. He could feel that his brother had no fight left in him.

"Fuck Edward, fuck you...if Bella dies it will be your entire fault." He spat, his voice low and directly in his brother's ear. "The entire family will never forgive you, and I know you will never forgive yourself."

His words and actions still had no effect. He stood up and looked down at the boy on the bed. At the moment Edward looked every bit the seventeen years old he really was, he looked young, and broken, and torn. He wasn't playing a part for once, he wasn't acting like a boy...he actually was one. That thought alone tore at Emmett's own heart. His brother normally was brooding, and moody, and basically a man trapped in a boy's body...after ninety years living as a boy, anyone would turn into a man. Yet here, and now...he was a sad little broken boy.

He reached back down to the end of the bed and grabbed the blood in one hand, and with his other reached out and forced Edward's mouth open. He started to pour the blood into his mouth but because he wouldn't swallow, it was just sliding right back out again and pooling down his face and neck and onto the bed.

"Drink Edward, drink this NOW!" His voice boomed, shaking the room.

He heard his family leave the living room and fly up the stairs, Carlisle, Esme, and Rosalie stood outside the door and at first knocked, but after a moment when he wouldn't answer they forced their way in, the small lock on the door snapping with no difficulty under their strength.

"Emmett stop, please." He heard his mother call out.

He refused, not letting up and acting as if he wasn't even aware that they were in the room.

"Fight Edward, fight for her! She will die, BELLA WILL DIE!" He screamed. The blood continued to pool around Edward, soaking into the bed beneath him, Emmett continued to pour, and shake him.

As the stream of blood ended he finally let up and set the bucket down and took a step back. He stared down at his brother and shook his head. He felt a hand on his back and turned his head to look down into the golden eyes of his beautiful wife. "I thought it would work Rosie." He whispered.

She smiled at him sadly and reached out to grab his large hand within her small one. "I know baby, I know. Come one...let's go get you cleaned up." She began to pull him away from the bed, and away from Edward. He turned and looked at his brother one last time, before turning back towards his wife and heading towards his own room.

When he reached the door where his mother and father were standing he leaned down and placed a light kiss on Esme's cheek. "I'm sorry." He told her, a dejected look splashed across all their faces. He met eyes with his father before he turned and took a step out into the hallway. The others were behind him and about to leave the room when they all heard it. They all turned back towards the bed and the form that was now looking towards them all with pitch black eyes.

"Wait." The scratchy voice rasped from the bed. "Don't leave."

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*hides*....Thoughts?


End file.
